Rita
I know it's been a few weeks, but I had to update tonight to tell everybody about Rita. My aunt and uncle live in Houston - they're the relatives we went to visit in July. With Rita now a class 5 hurricane, all the roads are jammed full of people evacuating the area. Imagine all the roads packed with people two weeks ago from Katrina, and multiply that by 5. Evacuees from New Orleans were placed in Houston, in the tens of thousands. The tv makes it sound like Texas is more prepared for a hurricane than New Orleans was, but my aunt and uncle aren't able to make it out. They have been asked to not leave, let the people in the flood plains get out while they still can. They'd rather stay and suss out the storm than get trapped somewhere on the highway when it hits. It's taking people 12 hours to drive a 1 1/2 hour journey. My aunt and uncle are not in the flood plain, so they have that going for them. But there is still the wind and rain damage to think about. Aunt Marlene stocked up on all the necesseties on Monday, so they are prepared to be holed up for awhile. Keep them in your thoughts in the next couple of days - all of Houston and the targeted areas.